Zite's bloghttps://blog.zite.com
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Migrate your Zite to Flipboardhttps://blog.zite.com/2015/08/27/migrate-your-zite-to-flipboard/
Thu, 27 Aug 2015 20:21:34 +0000http://blog.zite.com/?p=876]]>When Zite was acquired by Flipboard March 2014, we promised to integrate Zite’s recommendation technology into Flipboard. This process is now almost complete. Last year we integrated the topic engine, surfacing content from over 30k topics, to Flipboard. Earlier this year, we integrated our collaborative filtering algorithms that provide the “magic” of Zite. Now, you can also thumb up and down articles on Flipboard to further personalize your home feed.

Also, you can now import all your Zite personalization preferences into Flipboard: your topics, sources, and all the articles you’ve thumbed up on Zite. These will feed into the backend to power your home feed recommendations in Flipboard. When you open your Zite app, you’ll see a message on top of your feed with instructions on how to migrate your Zite to Flipboard. Your topics will show up in the “following” tab in Flipboard, and your thumbs will influence your personalization behind the scenes.

I hope that you’ll give it a try and let us know how we can improve going forward.

-Mike

]]>ziteblogZite is Flipping outhttps://blog.zite.com/2014/03/05/zite-is-flipping-out/
Wed, 05 Mar 2014 14:06:16 +0000http://blog.zite.com/?p=858]]>Today is an exciting day: Zite is spinning out from CNN and joining forces with Flipboard. Together, we’re going to build the most wonderful place to read news that has ever existed.

Ali Davar and I founded a company in 2005 called Worio whose mission was help people find information they weren’t getting through friends, social media, or search. Our plan was to deploy sophisticated machine learning techniques to understand people and content to build a better search engine. A short six years later, we released a news app for the iPad called Zite. The specifics were different from what we imagined in 2005, but the vision remained intact: not to “filter” news, not to save people time skimming headlines, but to understand them well enough to find that one article from an obscure blogger about medieval knitting they didn’t know existed and would have never have otherwise found, but is exactly what they were looking for.

Flipboard has been linked with our history since the moment we decided to build a news product. What they were able to accomplish on the barely-capable hardware of the first-gen iPad amazed us and inspired us to build Zite exclusively for the iPad (a decision that seemed crazier then than it would now). When we launched people instantly wondered if we were a “Flipboard killer”, and I’ve had to answer more questions about being in their shadow in the last three years than I care to count. At times, I found the comparison frustrating: Zite’s focus was on topics, while Flipboard was mostly about publications; Flipboard was a reader for social media but Zite tried hardest to find articles you couldn’t find on your Twitter feed. The two products look superficially similar but couldn’t be more different under the hood.

I should have realized that the comparison kept coming up because both companies share the same vision. As I have gotten to know the folks behind Flipboard, I’ve met a group of people whose commitment to building an amazing news reading experience rivals our own. We’re both trying to help people discover great content that feels like it was hand-picked just for them. We’re both dissatisfied with a world where ads force an article to be the second-class citizen on the screen. We both refuse to accept that monetization must be antagonistic to content.

Our goals are the same, and if our methods are different, that is not a source of weakness but of strength: Flipboard has an impressive curation team, unrivalled publisher network, and incredible scale. Zite has world-class recommendations technology and expertise in topic-based discovery. Both companies have amazing design and mobile engineering talent. I’m absolutely convinced that joining forces with Flipboard is the right next step in achieving the vision we started with back in 2005.

I don’t want this to be the type of acquisition announcement that glosses over all bad news, and there is some: the Zite app is not going to be around forever. Our goal is to get the things that are great about Zite into Flipboard before shutting it down. We will also build a way for you to transition your data from Zite into Flipboard. Until then (for six months at a minimum), we will continue supporting Zite. Our users mean the world to us; after all, what Flipboard saw in us, you saw first. We hope you come with us and help us shape the future of news.

I’m incredibly proud of the team for what they’ve accomplished in building Zite the last nine years, and we are all committed to creating something ever better at Flipboard. I’m not going to lie: I feel a tinge of nervous excitement when I think what we will build together.

]]>ziteblogWhat’s on my Zite? Featuring Wendy Dayhttps://blog.zite.com/2013/11/26/whats-on-my-zite-featuring-wendy-day/
Tue, 26 Nov 2013 19:10:11 +0000http://blog.zite.com/?p=846]]>Wendy Day has done some of the best deals in the urban music industry, and gone on to set up successful indie labels and write affordable how-to books for artists! Follow her at @RapCoalition.

Let’s start with the basics. How did you get into the music industry?

I came to the music industry as a rap music fan first, which is kinda funny since I’m a white, suburban female – certainly not the stereotype of a rap music fan. Or am I!? (Day laughs) I started listening to rap in 1980. I was attracted by the energy and passion in the music. By 1992, I’d learned how unfairly artists were treated by those who feel they deserve the lion’s share of the money, so I left corporate America to start Rap Coalition, an artists’ advocacy organization to help educate, unify, and inform artists, and to help those who were being unfairly oppressed by breaking their contracts. I was just crazy enough to offer my services for free, a price point that was affordable for rappers. After seeing and breaking a ton of bad contracts, I decided to start negotiating great deals for artists, which meant I had to help them build leverage to get them into good contracts. I proved to artists, labels, and the industry that when both the artists and the labels make great money, everyone is happy! I was able to do some pretty amazing deals such as Twista’s joint venture, Eminem’s deal, Master P’s No Limit deal, David Banner’s deal, and the amazing $30 million Cash Money distribution deal.

That’s quite the portfolio! If you had to pick, who was your favorite musician to work with and why?

That’s such a difficult question because many stick out in my mind. I love working with Slick Rick – he’s so down to earth and genuine. Eminem was loyal to everyone around him, which is a rare trait in any person. Young Buck is the strongest person mentally that I’ve ever met. C-Murder is kind, thoughtful, and took extreme chances to benefit his career. David Banner is exceptionally intelligent. I have fond memories of most of the folks I’ve worked with – a handful are bad human beings, but most are awesome people. I guess if I had to choose just one, I’d pick Tupac Shakur. He was really funny, needed and accepted my help, and applied what I (and others) taught him in order to excel in his career. It’s sad that we never got to see where his plan led. It was an amazing plan; I helped write it, so I might be biased. Don’t get it twisted, he was the brazen guy you saw in the media, but he was also very caring, thoughtful, introspective, intelligent, and gave back constantly to his community: all races, all creeds, all people. He was an inspiration.

What do you think Tupac would say about hip hop these days?

Pac would be both disgusted and amused, I think. We’ve gotten away from talent in hip hop lately and it’s become a lot about just making money. Although Tupac felt that hip hop should be judged by what sells best – giving the people what they want, I doubt he’d have enjoyed the level of extreme materialism, drug abuse (Molly and syrup references), and basic wordplay that exists in a lot of rap today. But he’d have loved the Internet and loved the access it has given artists to excel without the backing of a major label. And he would have loved all of the different genres that have splintered off from rap as he knew it. It has really infiltrated everything in life. And… he would have really loved Zite. Just like me, he was a knowledge junky. He loved information, knowledge, and interesting articles. Wow, I really miss Pac.

Tupac will definitely be remembered for his influence in the Hip Hop world. Thinking back to your start in this business, who was the first record deal that you ever signed?

The first record I ever put out was Po Pimp by Do or Die in Chicago. I didn’t negotiate their deal, however. I was negotiating with Jive and Atlantic for them when the group went to Houston for a weekend and came home signed to RapALot Records. I’m not sure what their deal paid them, but the offers we were getting from the NY major labels for Do or Die, at the time, were over a million dollars in advances, and the offers were still coming in and going up daily. The group’s buzz was huge and the major labels really wanted them. So we spun off Twista (he was a solo artist featured on Do or Die’s hit record) and put out hisrecord, and I got to negotiate an amazing joint venture for him with Atlantic Records a few months later.

You are credited for bringing Eminem to the attention of Dr. Dre & Interscope at RapOlympics. What is the first thing you tell people when they come to you seeking advice on how to ‘get discovered’?

I explain how incredibly competitive and over saturated the music business is, and the importance of building a buzz to increase leverage in attracting labels (or sales) to the artist. To get a deal today, you have to have a fan base already in place, both regionally and on the Internet. To sell music or attract fans to your shows, you have to do the same thing – build a fan base, a following. In rap, you must have a strong buzz to attract attention and stand out from the plethora of other artists. This is a business first and foremost, and it is not built on talent primarily. It’s built on having the proper funding to market and promote yourself as an artist, and on out-working every other artist! And it all starts with great music. Not good, but great music! Thanks for mentioning RapOlympics. I loved coordinating that event; it was one of the most important things I did in my career. It showed the world that great lyrics mattered at a time when artists were getting away from that. I think we need another one….

Sounds like you were an early pioneer in the industry. Did you have a mentor that showed you the ropes?

Nope, I forged ahead mentor-less. Unfortunately, there was no one doing what I do, so there weren’t really mentors to teach me. There still aren’t today. So I had to blaze my own path. I have however, mentored two decades of folks coming up behind me in the music business. I learned by doing and through many, many altruistic people willing to share knowledge and experiences with me when asked. I guess they were all kinda like micro-mentors who helped in situations, as needed: the lawyers who shared parts of contract law, the established artists who broke down their deals for me so I could top their deals for newer artists, and everyone who shared information on how to sell music – what works and what doesn’t. The knowledge and information built me, which is probably why I’m so forthcoming with knowledge and info for others. And this is probably why I’m addicted to Zite – I love knowledge. I fiend for it.

We love that you’re an avid Zite user and we’re curious, how did you first learn about Zite?

I don’t recall how I first learned of Zite, but I was a very early adopter. It was probably mentioned in one of the tech web mags, like Mashable. From the first time I loaded it on my iPad, it was love at first site. I hate to sound like the ultimate fan girl, but Zite is my favorite app. When Zite revamped and upgraded the design, I went into mourning. I feared Zite fixed something that wasn’t broken – but I adapted and it’s just as great. I use my Zite app multiple times every day. If you look at my Twitter feed, it’s often links to articles I found interesting or helpful on my Zite!! My 40 thousand followers also seem to love my links to cool articles. So thanks Zite for making me look good!!!

Glad to hear it! Do you have any topics in your Zite that do not pertain to music?

Gosh yes. I have business topics I follow such as entrepreneurial, branding, personal finance, wealth, personal branding, social media marketing and marketing. I also have tech topics like gadgets, and wearable tech. But the really cool articles come from ultra niche topics like street art (graffiti), war on drugs, prison, pole dance, Forex, travel deals, etc. Those niche topics are what bring up the most interesting articles. And then Zite recommends 19 articles every day that seem unrelated to any of my topics, which is really cool. It’s bonus knowledge. (Day laughs)

Yep, Zite is great that way (though we may be biased). Speaking of tech gadgets and apps, what are some of your favorites?

My iPad. I truly don’t leave home without it. And I’m a beta tester for Google Glass which is super fun and nerdy!! For apps, I rely on Echofon, Calendars+, Pages, NPR, Whisperings (a New Age music streaming service–yes, really!!), Mail, Gilt, Fab, the magazine apps for Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Wired, and I really can’t live without Zite. I wish I could pull up my Zite on my Google Glasses. Hint. Hint hint.

Funny you say that because we actually just launched an app for Google Glass. We’d love for you to take a look and let us know what you think. Enough about us though, you mentioned that you left corporate America to become the CEO and co-founder of RapCoalition. What was your inspiration?

It was born out of disgust for the way rap artists were treated by greedy record labels, overzealous production companies, weak managers, and assorted folks who took advantage of artists. We just want what’s fair for the artists. We are in our 22nd year of helping artists, mostly rappers.

Is your latest endeavor, A Scratchy Throat, meant to be an extension of RapCoalition?

A Scratchy Throat is a social network marketing company that helps artists and brands effectively utilize YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media to build their fan bases and to make money with their music. Social media is not the only route to market and promote an artist, but it’s an important part of the marketing pie. Artists need to engage their fans and build their fan base one by one. I started A Scratchy Throat because I got tired of paying other companies for this service for my artists and getting no results. My team delivers results.

These are great organizations for helping artists build their careers in the music industry. Are you a musician, as well as an advocate?

I’m not a musician, but I am an artist – painting, sculpture, clay & pottery, glass art – when I have time to play. Although… I sing in the shower, does that count?

Definitely! If you hadn’t gone into the music industry, what direction might your life have taken?

Without music or some form of the arts? I probably would be a billionaire in the tech industry. I’m a geek at heart. But I can’t even imagine my life without helping artists. Hey, is there a Coders Coalition in the tech world?? Hmmmm….

If anyone could put it together, you could. We’ll be watching…

]]>ziteblogWendy_DayZite 2.5 for iOS: Popular on Zite on iPhone, Rich E-mails and Bug Fixeshttps://blog.zite.com/2013/11/22/zite-2-5-for-ios-popular-on-zite-on-iphone-rich-e-mails-and-bug-fixes/
Fri, 22 Nov 2013 22:21:10 +0000http://blog.zite.com/?p=824]]>Zite is happy to announce that we’re shipping a new version of Zite for iOS with some exciting features and a bunch of bug fixes.

Popular on Zite is one of the most – well, popular – sections on Zite. That module accounts for approximately 14% of all clicks on the iPad, which is a testament to how interesting the Zite community is. On any given day, you’ll get a potpourri of stories about technology, photography, astronomy, world affairs, or whatever is trending on Zite. Often, those stories wouldn’t have otherwise appeared in your Zite. We’re happy to announce that Popular on Zite is now a module that will appear on your iPhone, in addition to the iPad.

Many users share the awesome things they read on Zite and e-mail is by far the most popular sharing service, representing about 50% of total shares (followed by Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+). We’ve made e-mail sharing much nicer by including a picture from the story and a summary; giving a bit more context to the person you share with via Zite.

Finally, we have a number of additional features we’ve added:

If the app somehow gets killed or (very rarely) crashes, Zite will open to the last article you were reading

Airdrop support

A bevy of bug fixes and performance improvements

As always, we love to hear your feedback so send your thoughts our way. And look forward to an update to Android in the near future.

Crossfire has returned to CNN and you’re one of the hosts. What is it like backstage; are you and your co-hosts able to put the politics aside when the cameras are off?

It is a lot of fun working with Stephanie Cutter, S E Cupp, and Van Jones. We start with emails about 7:15 every morning on topics, then we meet at 1:30 and think through the show, then we have a run through of ideas and details at 4:30 get makeup at 5:50 and get on the set around 6:10 to practice the TelePrompTer, run though the script, etc. It is a great working relationship, low key, occasionally funny, and very focused on bringing you the best possible Crossfire.

With such a disparate group of political opinions, how do you choose which topics to cover?

Syria dominated the opening week because it was so central to the public debate. Now we are focused on Obamacare, the continuing resolution, the debt ceiling, etc. We will continue to cover hot topics and we will also look for big issues that have historic meaning.

How would you describe your debate style?

Listen to the other person, try to understand their principles, apply the principles of history and conservatism and then say it clearly and directly.

In addition to being a politician, you also have a PhD in History. You’ve written quite a few books that span different topics. Which did you find to be the most engaging to write?

The most intellectually intriguing were the alternative history novels in which we had General Lee win at Gettysburg and in which we had Admiral Yamamoto lead the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. They were vivid and very action oriented and reminded us that history is not automatically going to occur as it did. My next book, Breakout, may be my most important book as it illustrates how we can break out from the “new normal” of big government, high unemployment, and a declining middle class. I also enjoy working with Callista on her history books for four to eight year olds where Ellis the Elephant travels through time.

Did you have an early career mentor who inspired you to enter and write about politics?

I was convinced to go into politics when my father took us to the battlefield of Verdun in France and we stayed with a friend of his who had been drafted in 1941, sent to the Philippines, served in the Bataan Death March and spent three and a half years in a Japanese prison camp. Watching the French Fourth Republic get killed by the French paratroopers who brought General De Gaulle back to power, looking at the greatest battlefield in World War I (700,000 killed and wounded in six months) and listening to the cost of losing in the Philippines convinced me that countries can die – and, you have to have good leadership. At 15, I decided I would focus my life on three questions:

What does America need to do to survive as a free country?

How would you explain it to the American people?

How would you implement it if they gave you approval?

That’s a pretty young age to have made that decision. If you hadn’t gotten into politics, what career path would you have taken?

I was going to be either a vertebrate paleontologist or a zoo director.

Those careers would have led you on quite a different path. Seems like you have a variety of interests and we hear that you’ve recently started using Zite; what types of topics do you enjoy reading about?

I am amazed at the breadth of Zite’s coverage. I listed pop culture, animals and the Middle East as three topics; Zite is bringing me an amazing amount of material.

Glad to hear it! Did you discover any unexpected topics in Zite that were of interest?

I am really surprised at the amount of interesting material on the Middle East.

Ever the historian. Your wife took some beautiful Instagram photos of your trip through Europe. Were those ancient ruins we spotted?

We visited Arles in southern France. It has an amazing Museum of Roman civilization, the Musee de l’Arles et de la Provence antique, one of the best I have ever seen. It also has a Roman amphitheater they use as a theater and a Roman Coliseum they use for bull fights. It is also the city in which Van Gogh painted some if his most famous works and you can visit some of the places he painted. It was a fascinating day.

When you’re not working or travelling to exotic locations, what activities do you enjoy?

I like to read, watch movies, golf, go to zoos and museums, hang out with Callista, eat at nice restaurants and talk with friends.

Thanks for your time today, Newt. We’d like to end with one final question. What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned throughout your career?

Cheerful persistence. Things are often harder than you expect. Sometimes you have bad luck. Sometimes things don’t work. Cheerful persistence is the only character trait that carries you through to success.

]]>ziteblogNewt GingrichHow iOS 7 helped us to rethink the Zite user experiencehttps://blog.zite.com/2013/09/18/how-ios-7-helped-us-to-rethink-the-zite-user-experience/
Wed, 18 Sep 2013 18:02:04 +0000http://blog.zite.com/?p=803]]>When we updated our Zite app for Android a few weeks ago we told you that we were also working on updating our iOS app in preparation for iOS 7. We’re excited to confirm that we’re releasing Zite for iOS 7 this week. In this post, we go into some detail about what’s changed and explain the philosophy behind our thinking.

We strongly believe in embracing the best features of every platform where Zite is available—whether iOS or Android, tablets or phones—while maintaining our brand consistency. You’ll therefore begin to notice our apps getting more “iOS-y” or “Android-y,” while still retaining their core Zite flavor. And, as always, our powerful personalization engine will ensure that you’re discovering amazing content across all platforms.

When we first installed iOS 7 at the office, we realized that it wasn’t just a cosmetic update or a few new features, but rather a rethinking of iOS. We could have just made Zite work on iOS 7 and changed a few icons, but we decided to use iOS 7 as inspiration. Rather than adding new features, this release is all about polishing the core user experience of Zite. With the backdrop of the flatter design philosophy of iOS 7, we focused on a few design principles beyond just consistency with iOS 7. Wherever possible, we simplified the interface. That meant stripping away chrome, focusing on content, and creating depth through transparency instead of through 3D effects. However, simple doesn’t mean that we didn’t want to add some playfulness to the interface. We also created some transitions that make the interface come alive a bit more and hopefully is more inviting and fun for our users.

In keeping with the overall style and interaction changes you’ll notice a number of updates to the Zite app—some subtle and some quite significant:

Adoption of the built in iOS navigation bar, which allows the user to swipe back to go back from the device bezel.

Introduction of blurring and transparency to create a sense of depth, rather than using 3D effects and shadows.

We’re excited for you to update to iOS 7 and experience how Zite has transformed itself to give you an amazing experience. Let us know what you think of the new look at feedback@zite.com.

]]>ziteblogImage 1 edge_swipe_ipadImage 2 qlImage 3 readersImage 4 sectionsGet Zite on Your Wrist with Samsung Galaxy Gearhttps://blog.zite.com/2013/09/04/get-zite-on-your-wrist-with-samsung-galaxy-gear/
Wed, 04 Sep 2013 18:36:50 +0000http://blog.zite.com/?p=797]]>Just a week ago, Zite announced a huge update to our Android app. We also announced an initial version of Zite for Google Glass and expressed our excitement for and commitment to wearable computing.

Today, we’re delighted to announce that we’re extending our reach into the wearable market to the most exciting new entrant, Samsung’s Galaxy Gear.

Unlike Google Glass, which is only available to the lucky few that have been selected by Google, Samsung’s Galaxy Gear will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.

Galaxy Gear is a companion device to your Samsung phone. In that vein, we’ve built Zite to allow you to scan your top 10 headlines quickly and efficiently. Because Zite is personalized to your tastes and interests, no two sets of top 10 stories will be the same. With Zite, you can pick topics from Aston Martin to Zoology and everything in between.

Zite believes in the future of wearable computing and are uniquely positioned to deliver next generation news products. Not only have we always been on the cutting edge of devices, but we’re also supported and owned by CNN, which encourages us to push the envelope regarding next generation news.

So, this first release of Zite on Samsung’s Galaxy Gear is just the beginning. We’re already working on a world of smart alerts – notifications on your companion devices that tell you about news that is uniquely important to you, not a message blasted to an anonymous crowd. We will add new notifications into Google Glass and Samsung’s Galaxy Gear in the coming months.

Enjoy and let us know what you think: we’re really interested in learning from our users who adopt this new technology at an early stage.

]]>ziteblog100Zite launches for Google Glass to explore the future of newshttps://blog.zite.com/2013/08/28/zite-launches-for-google-glass-to-explore-the-future-of-news/
Wed, 28 Aug 2013 17:06:08 +0000http://blog.zite.com/?p=778]]>Zite has always been on the forefront of new computing platforms. We first launched Zite on the iPad and have always been a mobile-first company. We believe there is a revolution coming in the form of wearable computing and want to keep Zite at the forefront of delivering news to our users in new and innovative ways.

In that vein, we’re excited today to announce the availability of Zite for our first wearable computing platform: Google Glass.

Zite on Google Glass gives users the ability to scroll through the top 10 stories in their Zite. As always this selection of stories is completely personalized so that no two users’ top stories are the same. We thought this would be a great way to get onto the Google Glass platform and we’re really looking forward to suggestions from Glass Explorers about how they want to consume news on Glass.

The reality is that Glass – and any other currently feasible wearable computing – offers a different functional experience than your phone, tablet, or computer. Therefore, the type of news that you consume on such device is quite different than what you might read on your tablet or scan on your phone. In other words, the underlying type of news that you consume on a wearable must change. Until news organizations start building news for these devices (like Circa did for the iPhone), we’ll have to try to innovate around them

Currently, wearable devices function largely as companion devices to a phone (though we imagine a day where that won’t be the case). The next feature that we expect to release on Google Glass will be smart notifications. Because Zite knows the kinds of articles that you most like to read, we are uniquely positioned to deliver you the industry’s best notifications, i.e., news that you actually want to read.

Since Glass is such a different form factor to anything we’ve seen in the past, expect the type of news, navigation, and features to be much different than your phone. We look forward to pushing the envelope of what’s possible on wearables and to giving our users the best possible Google Glass experience.

Are you one of the early Glass Explorers? Install Zite and let us know what you’d like us to do next. Zite for Google Glass can be downloaded here.

Today we’re excited to announce Zite 2.0 for Android, the biggest update to Zite’s Android product since it was launched
18 months ago. We’re also announcing availability on Google Glass.

We’ve completely rewritten our Android version of Zite to inherit the beautiful and functional user interface that is Zite 2.0, which we released on iOS in December of last year and continued improving with three subsequent releases. It was very important for us to get the next generation of Zite right on one platform before moving to another. After listening to our users through a few iterations to Zite, we believed it is time to bring the magic to the Android community.

However, we’ve worked very hard not just to port Zite to Android, but to embrace the platform. We’ve included Android-specific features, optimized the interface to conform to Android user-experience guidelines, and integrated features from hardware vendors like Samsung.

If you’ve used the previous version of Zite for Android, here’s a list of some of the new features that you’ll find:

New Design: we’ve re-written the app from scratch and have a beautiful new interface for you to explore your favorite topics.

Widget: add the Zite widget to your home screen, allowing you to page through your top 10 stories on Zite, based on your tastes and interests.

Explore: Provides an easy way to discover new topics from Zite’s expansive set of over 40,000 topics. Zite features new topics each week for you to explore.

Quicklist: Quick access to all of your favorite topics, with controls for reordering your list.

Improved User Setup: With a streamlined sign-in through your favorite social networks and clear, step-by-step user education to guide new users through the essentials of Zite.

Your Top Stories: Redesigned, with improved personalization and a more extensive selection of articles.

Brand New Sharing Menu: which includes all of the sharing services you have on your device.

Topic Tags in Articles: many articles have associated topic tags, which you can like or navigate to quickly from the article.

S-Pen integration: for users of Samsung devices, you can use your S-Pen to navigate the Zite app.

Better personalization: the core of what make Zite so amazing is our technology, which learns about your tastes and interests and gets smarter as you use it. Your Top Stories is more intelligent than ever and will continue to show you old favorites while still surfacing fresh voices and surprising serendipity.

Zite 2.0 for Android will work for all Android phones with Gingerbread or higher, phablets (like the Samsung Galaxy II) and 7” tablets. For all of these form factors, we’ve chosen to go with a vertical instead of a horizontal scroll and optimized that experience for larger devices. A tablet version for Android is in the works, though we aren’t yet announcing a specific timeline.

Our commitment to Android is solid. We’re planning to release an update to this version of Android this Fall and will listen intently to feedback from the Android community.

iOS users, don’t despair: we’re thinking of you, too and working hard to make sure that Zite is going to look splendid on iOS 7 when it releases.

Thanks for taking to time to answer some questions, Tony. As an experienced advisor, what do you think are the two top mistakes a startup/entrepreneur can make in the first year of a company?

Waiting too long to release their product/service. GET IT OUT, get feedback and iterate.

In your opinion, what are the three key elements of success for a startup in Silicon Valley?

People (your team is crucial), Market (know what you are solving for) and Technology (be really good at what you do) — FOCUS!Which company are you keeping a close eye on for 2013 and why?

Twitter. In the beginning, I did not really get it, but now I see it as the most accurate and immediate source of global news. In addition, it has become the go-to platform for advertising & analytics.

Which industry do you expect to see the most growth in this year?

I believe NFC will get real traction when Apple releases their next iPhone with NFC chip support, this will give global scale to end-point devices and allow real movement to support true wallet replacement via the mobile device.

Which industry could benefit from growth this year?

Can I have two? I think solving TV (remove cable box nightmare) — think TIVO you can talk too, and automotive INFOTAINMENT. Again, bringing together your iPhone/Android or Windows mobile phone into an integrated environment that really allows you to drive and not look at your handset (verbal texting, readback text, etc.).

Ok, enough work talk, we noticed you’re a big traveler. Where has been your favorite place to visit and why?

Four Seasons Bora Bora: Everywhere you looked was like a postcard. I have never seen a more beautiful place; the water was 100 shades of blue. It was amazing!

If you could go anywhere in the world to spend 24 hours, where would you go? What would be on your list of things to do?

24 hours! Oh put me on Air Force One to spend 24 hours with the President… I think the list of things to do would be pretty interesting, don’t you think?

Nice, would love to be a fly on the wall for that convo! Describe a day in the life of Tony – how do you start and end your day?

2:30pm: Back to working on my plan, calls, emails and meetings if necessary

6pm: Try and grab a bite to eat, sometimes with friends

7:30pm: Reset, break, breather… (Zite)

9:30/10:30pm: Watch my shows

11pm: Use Zite or a Kindle or Audible

Glad to see someone actually take breaks during the day…

How did you first encounter Zite? Do you remember your first experiences with Zite?

I was a BETA user of Zite and I remember loading it onto my iPad and thinking, ‘OMG this is like Pandora for news.’ I probably spent 2 or 3 hours reading through all of the topics, using the thumbs up and thumbs down. I told the world that a game changing application was coming.

Why do you use Zite?

Zite has become my morning and evening ritual. I use Zite (actually replaced WSJ, Bloomberg and NY Times’ apps with Zite) because I find the quality and breadth of articles and sources is far greater than I could have ever imagined.

What other apps do you use daily and why?

Other than Zite, I use email of course, iMessage (unified messaging on the iOS and OSX), Amazon, Kindle, Calendar and the browser.If you could add one category – anything – what would it be?

“Craftsman Homes” or “Arts & Crafts Homes.”

What are you working on now? Anything coming up in the next few months that’s got you excited?

I like being a catalyst. I love investing in people. I recently opened a restaurant in Oakland (Duende) and invested in a hip wine bar in SF called Tank18, but the project that has got me most excited right now is solving the age old problem of inaccurate contact information for your address book on your mobile phone. Today we are administrators of everyone’s information on our phones. Without copying everything to a server, we want to allow people to own their personal contact and share it with people in their lives, controlling who gets what, so you never have to update anyone’s information again. Imagine.

YOU are only responsible for YOU…you change something. It should update everywhere you have shared it automatically based on the relationships you defined.